Conquering the Past
by greenfairy13
Summary: After the loss of the beloved Ponds and River the Doctor decides to settle down in Victorian England. He promises to rescue the universe never again but soon enough he will be the one in need of a saviour. When two men try to assassinate the Doctor he gets saved by a mysterious woman who desperately hides her face. Together they must face their past to start into a future.
1. Holiday

Every living being has a limit. Every living being can only bear a particular amount of pain. Just add enough pressure and you can see anyone breaking.

The Doctor had a very high pain threshold, probably the highest in the entire universe, perhaps in any universe. He had suffered and endured enough over the past thousand and some years. As if he knew how old he was. For God's sake he was a time traveller, the ageless wanderer in time. One moment he was in in the nineteen thirties on Earth then he was in the year five billion on a planet with an unpronounceable name. How are you supposed to keep track on your age with such a life style? Not at all.

He did not notice it in the first place. The feeling did not came suddenly. It sneaked itself into his hearts over time but after all, time was everything the Doctor had ever really owned.

The Ponds where gone. River had led a group of adventurers to the library planet. Which added three more beloved, adored people to his long list of "lost forever to me". Saving the universe, planets and species was really not a well rewarded job at all – even if you're the best at it.

The bloody problem with superheroes is that they always end up alone, the happy endings are booked for the people he saves but not for the hero himself. He goes "home" and hopes to find someone to stitch up the wounds until the next fight starts. The hero has no wifey waiting or kids or even a dog, well a robot dog maybe but they don't count, do they?

He had really messed things up, lost too many people and he was unable to connect with others. The places he travelled seemed nowadays grey and boring. One was exactly like the other: inhabited by more or less cruel species that fought with each other or another species or someone had gone mad and tried to take over power. History constantly repeated itself and he was damned to jump in and set things right. The story was all the same over and over and over; just the faces would change.

It was the silence that nearly drove him mad. The Tardis was an incredibly huge spaceship with over hundred bedrooms, several swimming pools, libraries, kitchens, living rooms, cinema centres, fitness centres and so on. These where just way too many rooms for one person. Wandering around his beloved ship he hoped to find the Ponds (Williamses! Amy had taken her husband's name! Get this right in your head!) arguing over something trivial. He wished to hear Amy's piercing voice crying out for him to conciliate between her and Rory the Roman.

Really, he had loved his waiting couple. Rory who had never given up hope and who had bewared the Pandorica for two thousand years, ever loyal, yearning to see her again at the end. Amy, who had met the Doctor as a little girl. He had eaten all the provisions in her kitchen to return ten years later. Quite patient people and he had just lost them. Now they had become feed for the angels. Knowing that they had not died but lived a happy life and had stayed together for their lifetime did not appease the Doctor as much as it should.

He grieved, he sulked and he drowned in self-pity.

River was gone as well. Sure, her mind was safe in a computer programme together with the members of her team but she was dead, gone and she had never really been with him. That woman had been a mystery from start to finish: head over heels in love with him before she tried to assassinate him and after all they had ended up married; yet she had decided to leave him. River had lived her own life, she had not chosen becoming a companion, an appendage but had made her own way.

When he had asked her to travel with him she had agreed in the first place but than she had stabbed his hearts by telling him the Tardis would only be big enough for one psychopath at a time.

The ship was certainly big enough for at least three dozen psychopaths!

He stood in front of the console, tinkering around and talking about the complexity of wormholes and the damages they could cause to his Tardis and how he would avoid further damage. This time there was just nobody around to admire his wit.

"The universe does not care whether it's being saved or not, it just rewards you with a kick and mocks you!" He really needed a break, he should really settle down and do nothing at all; though resting had never really been the Doctor's expertise. He kept running and travelling though he had to force it now onto himself.

On one day he ended up on a quite rocky planet. The coordinates had once more been set wrong and he stepped outside the Tardis to look at three happy pterodactyls flying round his head into a gorgeous sundown. "Oh give me a break," he gasped afraid that if he'd turn around he would find his younger self and Rose standing on the other side of the cliffs, he could almost hear her promising "forever".

On this specific day he decided that he was finished with the universe. He was alone, the woman he had married was a computer programme and the one he should have married had probably died a long time ago after a long, prosperous and tawdrily happy life with his human regeneration. "If other me had had any brain in his head he should have tossed the Tardis coral right into the ocean after I gave it to him to live a perfectly ordinary life with the woman of our dreams," he thought bitterly.

Well the chance to be with Rose had turned up more than once in his life and he had pushed her away three times. The third time she had decided to stay with his human regeneration; how could he blame her? Or River for living her own life? Or Amy for choosing her husband over him? Or Martha? Or anyone who had left him in his long life. Sure, the line was sometimes blurry. In Rose's case he could not even decide for himself whether she had left him or he had left her or if there had been a leave at all; considering the fact that ten point two was nothing else than regeneration gone wrong and hence nothing else than a human Doctor and after all the Doctor himself gone mortal.

He would go on a holiday, a really long holiday and he would resign from his universe saving superhero job. Victorian London, that would be his place. Quietness, a cuppa once in a while and a visit to the theatre (though he would have to avoid Charles Dickens) and nothing else. No more friendships, no more love affairs, no more connections. No more broken hearts. No more. "I use the quote no more too often, I will use it no more," he joked to himself.

London in 1800. Such a wonderful place! He could not remember that anything suspicious would be happening in the next fifty years or even more. Perfect for retirement he thought and parked his Tardis in a cloud above the city.

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	2. A new case

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Being the best at something can sometimes be a huge disadvantage. For example when you are trying to indulge into the pleasures of private life and being constantly interrupted at it.

Madame Vastra had just returned home into her luxurious London townhouse. A scent of tea hung in the air, fresh flowers stood on the little table by the entrance and her sexy human wife was awaiting her with a serious stare; though she did not let fool herself, she saw the sparkles in her eyes and the hint of a mischievous grin among her lips and she was wearing this really tight velvet silk dress. This was a promising start into the evening!

"So, how about the murderer? Was he local?" Jenny started, truly curious.

"Depends on the definition of "local". People would hardly recognise me as local though I've been longer around this area than the royal family."

Jenny rolled her eyes: "If you want to play a deduction game I'll slip into something more comfortable. You know exactly what I mean when I ask if someone is local."

"Oh, don't you dare. I did not even start admiring your dress." Vastra replied circling Jenny, staring at her as if she was prey.

Madame Vastra was a lizard. A humanoid lizard. Her body had the same shape as the body of a really slim and fit human woman in her early thirties; though her skin gave her real origin away as it was bright green. From the first second on Jenny had thought Madame Vastra would be the most beautiful and fascinating creature in the whole universe and vice versa.

Being a lesbian in Victorian London was not exactly easy plus living together with a woman that wasn't even human but a Silurian had not really pleased Jenny's parents and even that was an understatement.

Jenny had started as a maid but she had soon enough discovered that Vastra was hiding something from her as she had never allowed her to be seen without a veil or a mask, curious as Jenny had ever been she had hidden in Madame Vastra's closet and waited until she got undressed. But Vastra was not the greatest living detective for nothing: she had heard Jenny and pulled her out of the closet. Before she could say a thing Vastra had covered her mouth and threatened her with drinking her blood and tossing her remains into the Themes. As soon as Jenny was able to speak again she was only able to blurt out: "You're beautiful, so so beautiful."

The maid was about to be forced into marriage when Vastra finally decided to stand by her and propose to her; Jenny did not hesitate to leave her family and settle down into this unusual relationship. The two women lived under cover, sometimes disguised as men sometimes as women and solved crimes for a living.

Though Jenny did not like it if Vastra went out on her own, being in love meant commonly being afraid of loosing your beloved one. Vastra had hunted down a dangerous serial killer who had killed five prostitutes by ripping their throats open with his bare hands. They had encountered non human killers before and neither of them had been able to tell whether this one had been human or not. The brutality of this man had been exceptional and Jenny was quite infuriated that Vastra had taken down this man on her own.

"So, was he human?"

"Yes, totally ordinary."

"Not ordinary I suppose."

The women where silent for a second.

"You went alone."

"Yes."

"Why?"

" I could not have done to him what I did if you had been with me."

Jenny frowned and shook her head.

Vastra gave her a very dark and dangerous grin.

"He might have been a monster but he was tasty." she précised and liked her lips.

"You can't drink them! What if the police finds out?" Jenny shouted out angrily but her mood turned after a second, glancing at the lizard her voice dropped an octave and she asked with a husky voice: "Isn't there something better you could do with that long tongue of yours?"

Before the two women could find out what Jenny had in particular on her mind the doorbell rang. Before they had time to react the door flung open and a third woman came rushing in. Vastra jumped back into a little closet, desperate to cover her face up with a veil. Jenny ran after the unwelcome visitor.

"Who do you think you are? You can't only enter without waiting for an invitation!"

"I can, obviously." stated the other woman coolly while she sat down in the winter garden. The woman was dressed in black from head to heel. Her thick black velvet dress covered her skin completely. It was really tight around her hips, showing her very small and thin figure but neither her neck nor her ankles or even her shoes where visible under the gown. Her hands where covered with black leather gloves and her head was decorated with a huge hat, the veil covered her face entirely.

"Please give me your hat, I will take it to the wardrobe." Jenny stated.

"No, you won't."

Madame Vastra entered the room: "I won't take your case if I don't get to see my client."

"You will."

Vastra smirked: "I don't think so. Please leave. Now!"

"I thought you would help, great Detective Holmes. And the other one over there is supposed to be John Watson. I am right, am I?" she continued but it was obviously not a question.

Madame Vastra's jaw dropped slightly: "This is future history, there are no books yet about a detective called Sherlock Holmes. They are about to be written. How can you possibly know that?"

The woman chuckled and turned her covered face to the lizard woman: " You have no idea what I know and what not. But first things first: I know you are the best if one is in need of a private detective. Something has been stolen from me and I need you to get it back."

"Who are you?"

The other woman snorted bemused: "A name means nothing. The one behind the name is the one that matters. But if you need a name it's Lady Astrid from the Forest of Fob to you."

Vastra gave her a quizzical look: "Forest of Fob? Never heard that before."

"It's originally a German name,I translated Wald into English which means nothing more than Forest."

"Forest of lies, that's what you sound like to me. I want to see your face if you expect me to take your case."

"You will not see my face," she said quietly, "You will take my case either, you are by now far too curious to let me just go and by the way: my face is not longer worth looking at."

"Let me judge myself, I'm not interested in you beauty but in you expressions."

The woman sighed and started to pull off one of her gloves really slowly. By now Vastra was able to tell that the movement must hurt her.

"I have no expressions left in my face, it shows nothing. Have a look at my hand. My face does not look any better."

Vastra stepped closer and examined the hand. She gasped and jumped slightly back. The skin could barely be called like that. This hand had been burnt horribly. It was a mess of grains, pits ans scars. Red hurting flesh.

She pulled the glove back over her hand: "My whole body looks like this," the woman said without any emotion in her voice.

"You should be dead. This age, nobody would be able to treat you. How could you possibly survive?"

"It's not up to you to find out. I want you to return me my heart."

Vastra sat down, the woman had her full attention by now.

"Your heart? You mean you are actually not alive. What are you?"

The woman giggled: "You are finally asking the right questions but I hope you don't expect me to be honest. My promise: I won't lie to you but I will not answer any of your questions as they don't concern you or the job I want you to do."

"I won't work for you," Vastra replied stubbornly.

"Oh, I am sure you will." Lady Astrid handed over a picture. "This is the heart of Astrid. A red ruby shaped like a flower. I has been stolen and I want you and your assistant to get it back for me as I am not in the physical state of doing any fieldwork on my own."

Vastra nodded. It would not be hard to find out who was about to sell a ruby as big as an apple. No one can sell anything this particular without leaving traces but Vastra hesitated: "First I want to know who you really are."

The woman coughed, she was getting weaker and one could tell that she must have immense pain but still she kept her countenance: "I bet you would," she whispered, her voice nearly broke.

"Your arm, you are bleeding."

"Hmm, the wounds keep ripping open. As you have earlier pointed out: I should be dead. I need to go, need my morphine."

Lady Astrid headed towards the door, before leaving she handed over a visiting card: "As soon as you have found it come to me."

"I never said I would be taking your case."

"You never said you wouldn't," replied Lady Astrid and vanished in her carriage.

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	3. Of Villains and Heroes

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Villains. Evildoers. Miscreants.

Did you ever reason about them? It is somewhat really odd because in the end the villains never succeed, they are beaten. The hero is always victorious because that's the way it' supposed to be, isn't it?

Well, I have a slightly different opinion on villains. The villain can never conquer the hero for one reason: he is a show off. A criminal genius needs a stage, he is yearning for admiration. Just imagine you would be the villain and you have made this super sophisticated, elaborate, deliberate plan to bring your enemy finally to his knees.

You would want to wipe it, smash it in his face. You would want to indulge into you victory, you would want to wallow in it. There is no way letting the hero die without him knowing it was you.

After all these years of circling each other, fighting and planning it is now only up to you to dance on your foe's grave.

Villains can not withstand enjoying the final victory; and I can hardly blame them. But there is a problem to this behaviour: if you give your brilliance away, if you explain exactly how you have finally hunt down the hero, the hero is given time. He can consider and elaborate how to get out of the mess he has found himself in.

The next problem that comes with highly sophisticated plans is the following: you need people to work it out and people talk, they give away precious details and before you know it, your foe presages what you are up to do.

So rule number one for villains must therefore be: Don't talk, just shoot.

Rule number two: Keep it simple. The ultimate result matters. Don't show off, don't be too smart.

Considered what I've just pointed out the current enemies of the Doctor did everything right. They had spied him out in Victorian London and simply got to work. The ambition was to kill him and therefore two men had been hired. The most reckless scum one could imagine, men who would trade their children for a beer and a quarter. Poor and lost souls who had only ever experienced poverty, cruelty and pain. The Doctor had encountered these enemies behind these assassins before and he had always been lucky and gotten away, leaving them defeated.

But this time he would not be so lucky, not at all...

The Doctor was only just getting used to do nothing. He was only strolling through the city, going to the museum, laughing when the curators would get history wrong or having a good time at the opera or in the theatre.

He stayed away from people because there was no use to befriend; human lives are brittle and they end within seconds. Their feeble bodies can be smashed by carriages or be infected with diseases and just when you are about to set up a proper relationship you find yourself on a graveyard with a bunch of flowers in your hands.

And there was this thing the Doctor once did. This specific crime on this specific day about four hundred years ago. This crime he refused to face, to admit it had been him who did it.

There is no way you can look into a mirror and be pleased knowing you are the slaughter of billions; even if their deaths had made the lives of so many others actually possible. It is not possible to counterbalance life with life. How can you determine the worth of a living being? Tell this one is more worth than another one? Or these are equal?

If it's up to you to chose who may live and who may not you eventually become God. The Doctor knew exactly what it felt like being God as he had sentenced all the Time Lords of Gallifrey and all the Daleks of Skaro to their death.

He regretted. Yes, there might not have been another option and yes the universe might have ceased to exist but this amount of guilt is too much for anyone. Even for the Doctor, even if he told himself he did it in the name of peace and sanity.

The guilt was about to ruin the Doctor's peace and sanity.

He just came out of the theatre after having watched Hamlet and he was distracted by the play. The Doctor might not be a selfish teenage brat but likewise Hamlet he had set off an avalanche of death and destruction in his long life; unlike Hamlet he had always survived his actions.

It was a cold winter night and it was raining. The Doctor wore a ridiculously large stovepipe hat, he was hurrying away from Mrs. Somerson who was desperate to introduce the Doctor to her niece Luisa and her daughter Victoria, thinking the Doctor would be quite a catch for one of the unmated girls.

After a few minutes he remarked that he was being followed. The woman behind him ever kept the same distance and stayed in the shadows, her head was hidden under a huge hat, the face covered with a lace veil and she had a sword hidden under her cape.

The Doctor focused on his shoes and tried to avoid the woman's stare. Sure she had recognised him, as if Madame Vastra would ever forget him but he did not want to talk to her, did not want to explain what had happened to Amy and Rory and he certainly did not want to talk about Demon's Run.

After having made five turns left and four to the right through dirty little side streets he was at the backside of a run down tavern. Luckily the door was only a metal grid and with some slight help by his sonic screwdriver he made his way in.

Three steps lead him into a wine cellar (a wine he would never willingly taste as judged by the smell) and from there he walked into another tavern where he decided to get back outside, sure Madame Vastra had finally lost his track.

He had been so focused on not meeting Madame Vastra he had not noticed the two dirty men who had followed him ever since he had left the Tardis to get to the theatre. Both where dressed in filthy brown suits, covered with stains of grease, sweat and blood. The one on the left was small and fat but with heavy, muscular arms while the other one had an average height and physique. Therefore it was the fat man who smashed the wooden bludgeon into the Doctor's face.

The world around the Doctor turned black, the hit had come totally unexpected and despite his superior Timelord physiology he went straight to the ground.

Madame Vastra had not been looking for the Doctor,she had not even known he was in London. The theatre was just one of her best opportunities regarding her newest case.

Disguised as Lady Harnell, a wealthy widow, she had sneaked her way into the grand loge. She had spent her evening spreading rumours about the fortune of her late husband and her predilection for exquisite jewels. Of course she had not forgotten to mention that a red ruby would lack her collection and that she would pay any price for a flower shaped ruby. The friendly exchange of kindness had been interrupted abruptly when Vastra had spotted the Doctor in the crowd.

That second she did no longer care about Lady Astrid and her ruby but started observing the Doctor. Fortunately he wore a ridiculously large hat which made the task quite easy. Soon enough she found out that he avoided her but she kept stalking him because she had indeed seen the two men following around him like rats following the scent of waste.

Vastra lost track on the Doctor in one of the side streets but she could not help the strange feeling in her stomach when a carriage made it's way from a tavern to the outbounds of the city slightly too quickly.

The Doctor woke up in a carriage and he could certainly think of at least a thousand better ways to get up than staring into a gun.

His hands and feet had been handcuffed and shackled violently and it hurt, his face itched from dried blood and he felt a bit dizzy.

"Would you mind pointing that somewhere else?" The Doctor asked with forced kindness.

"Did I allow you to talk?" Responded the fat man and hit the Doctor so hard in the face he nearly dislocated his jaw.

After around five minutes of silence the Doctor made another try:

"You know, I am not a wealthy man if this is supposed to be kidnapping and blackmailing my family or friends to get money I can assure you I have really nothing."

The man laughed humourless: "This is about your death mate. We have each been paid really well and whatever you offer our employer has promised us the double."

"So you have an employer than. Am I going to meet this obviously lovely fellow?"

"Hardly. Nobody is about to meet anyone. We'll take you to a cosy place and get our cash delivered home. No unnecessary relations, we like to keep our jobs simple."

"Well, this is stupid. I mean nobody gets executed for no reason. People usually reason before killing and whatever it is I'm getting killed for afterwards...well there is no afterwards, that's the point." The Doctor babbled out, his head hurt and he had trouble to focus.

"Isn't it a bit unfair? I mean I'm obviously about to get murdered and I may not even know why?"

"I don't think you're one to philosophise about fairness. You have murdered more than anyone can count, don't think I feel guilty about you and I hardly ever meet bigger scum than me."

"I am not a murderer," the Doctor stated.

"That's what any killer says. Oi, Phil have you ever killed a man?" He shouted out at his fellow who directed the carriage through a blowzy wood.

"Me? Never!" And both men burst out in laughter.

"Make the best of this trip mate. Three innocent people are about to make a midnight excursion through the woods. Gonna be great."

"I'm not your mate." The Doctor responded slightly infuriated.

"Besides mate, I know for sure you're a killer. You might not have done it for the money but the result is always the same: a corpse. In your case many corpses and some people are truly pissed about you."

"Who do you think am I?" asked the Doctor silently.

"Mate, I don't give a f**** who you are," the man ripped the Tardis chain from the Doctor's neck and pulled the sonic screwdriver from his pocket, "I've been told that the man with these two items shall be dead by tomorrow and now silence!"

The Doctor got another hit at his forehead and passed out once again.

He woke up when the man dragged him violently out of the carriage into the ice cold winter night. His handcuffs where opened but before the Doctor could start talking the man kicked his knee so hard he offset it: "I've been told you're one to run away when the situation starts getting critical. As this would be now I've allowed myself to take precautions."

The pain was enormous, vast and hardly to bare. The Doctor yelled out in pain, hot burning tears ascended his eyes.

"Pull yourself together and start digging!" The man hissed and smashed a shovel into the Doctor's stomach. Three ribs broke at the impact.

The Doctor breathed in heavily: "How am I supposed to work with broken ribs and an injured leg? And why would I want to dig my own grave?"

" Because of the same reason anyone would. To get some more time. You're all the same, hoping until the end that something unforeseen happens. Dig! Let me have my fun, I truly love the hoping part and the desperation when it gets to the end."

So the Doctor started digging. Running away was no option, hitting the man with the shovel was no option cause the other one was lurking in the background so he decided to get back to talking.

"Oi, Phil was the name, right? You know Phil, you don't have to do this. This world has so much more to offer than death. Just think back when you have been a child..."

Phill was not in a talkative mood and the Doctor learned the hard way that the silent Phil was even more violent than his nameless mate when he jumped at the Doctor pushed his face into the wet ground and released him only shortly before he would have suffocated.

"More digging, less talking!"

Lady Astrid liked the fact that she was able to afford one of the biggest country estates in whole England but she did not like intruders, she preferred privacy.

When the alarm started and told her that three men had been spotted at the outer borders of her estate she made her way there despite the pain and her bleeding wounds. Her butler was already home so she went out alone.

The men had been located at the old graveyard, she sneaked up and overheard the conversation of the men.

"We need to shoot him twice."

"Why?"

"Dunno. Told me he'd start glowing and then we'd have to shoot him once more. Chop off the head then to prove it's him and burn the body."

"Why would a corpse start glowing?"

"Shut up and do as we're told."

Lady Astrid had to bite her burnt lips to contain herself from making a sound. "He would start glowing." Only one species in the entire universe would glow after it's death and as there was only one man of this species left. You had not to be a genius too guess who was about to dig his own grave.

Lady Astrid put down her enormous hat and the wide Victorian skirt. She was now in a black body suit that compressed her whole body, the special fabric was a substitute for her bruised skin. Her face was covered with a white Venetian porcelain mask.

She looked like Skeleton Jack except for her wig with the beautiful black curls. Three injections with morphine where attached to a belt around her leg. She injected all of them at once, knowing this was the only way she would be able to endure the next few minutes.

The Doctor and the fat man had their back turned at her, the other one was monitoring the Doctor, fingers around the rifle.

"The grave is deep enough!" yelled the fat man and pushed the Doctor into the wet ground, he blacked out for the third time.

The thin man took aim at the Doctor but Lady Astrid was quicker. She jumped at the man with great grace and readiness; she was herself surprised about the strength that still slumbered in her body.

"It's always about the Doctor, sure" she whispered to herself as she cut the man's throat without hesitation adding the man's hot blood to her own as her suit was already soaking wet.

The fat man panicked at the frightening figure before him and tried to escape but Lady Astrid threw her knife after him getting him right between the shoulders. He broke down and she approached slowly.

The man started begging, praying, sobbing but she did not care. She did not care for such people in a long time, she barely noted his whimpers as she broke his neck with a quick movement.

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	4. Safe and Sound

The Doctor was awakened by the sun shining in his face. He found himself in a luxurious, huge bedroom. A gigantic window gave him a great view on the English countryside, sheep and bland hills. The ceiling had been painted dark blue with little golden stars, it looked like a human view on the night sky while the walls had been covered with cream - coloured tapestry. He found his body carefully covered with soft silk and cashmere blankets.

The Doctor had to focus. How could he ended up here? He remembered a graveyard, a cold wood, a carriage and immense pain. He had been abducted and he was about to get murdered. The men had known that he must be shoot twice because he would else start glowing, they had known about his ability to regenerate. There had been no opportunity to reason with them, none of them would have listened to him and he had never been more certain that he would now die.

He remembered digging a grave with broken ribs and a dislocated knee, he remembered the tears and most humiliating he remembered himself begging for his life as he faced the fact that the last of the Time Lords was about to die in the dirt, alone and forgotten.

"Please, you don't have to do this. PLEASE." The Doctor had pleaded and the world had turned black.

The Doctor checked his ribcage and found himself completely healed, his knee did not hurt. Had he just dreamt the last night? And where was he?

He rose from the bed and looked down upon his body, somebody had put him into white pyjamas with blue stripes. The clothing seemed awkwardly familiar but he could not put his finger on it.

The Tardis key! The sonic screwdriver! They had taken both from him! But no, the Tardis key hung on a golden pendant around his neck and the sonic screwdriver lay on the bedside table.

He approached the door and his hearts sunk. Wood. The sonic screwdriver would not work on wood so he turned his attention to the window and to his amazement he had it open in a second and decided to climb out. His right leg was dangling in the air over the window ledge when the door flung open and a tall,thin middle aged man dressed in a frock entered the room.

"Sir! If you want to indulge into a walk please consider using the door. You'll find it far more comfortable than the window and my Lady would not want her guest get hurt under my attendance."

The Doctor scrambled back into the room and stared in confusion at the man.

"And who might you be? My jailer?"

"Me, Sir? I am the butler. My name is Everett Hughes. I wanted to inform you that the breakfast would be ready by now and the tailor had just been here with new clothing for you, Sir. I will lay it down for you in the bathroom."

The butler entered the room and went straight into the bathroom leaving a brand new dark brown suit and a black coat as well as a dumbfounded Time Lord behind.

The Doctor left his room and could not help cursing himself as the room had never been locked at all.

He found the dining room easily though the house was huge and besides the butler it seemed to be uninhabited.

The dining room was flooded with food. Pastries, fish, meat, cabbage, fries, cheese, tea, hot chocolate, sausages, fresh bred; everything seemed to be there, ready to be eaten.

"Are we expecting someone else?" The Doctor asked suspiciously.

"No, Sir. But my Lady has ordered me to treat you well. As she was unsure what kind of food you would prefer she begged me to give you a small variety. I hope you'll find something tasty among this selection. I excuse for the poor choice but I did not have more time and my Lady told me you would wake at ten."

"How could she have known when I wake up?"

"My Lady took care of your injuries, Sir. Your ribs had been broken, your heart was perforated, your jaw and your knee dislocated and you had a concussion. My Lady had been sure you would die and she almost gave her life to save you. As she was done she told me how long you would be sleeping and gave me further orders."

"What orders? How did she fix my injuries so quickly?"

" My Lady is capable of such wonders." Everett explained with deep devotion. "My Lady told me you would be her guest as long as you'd want to stay and I am supposed to full fill my duties as they shall be taking care of any of your wishes."

"So, well that does sound good I suppose. Where exactly am I?"

"You are at Powell Estate, Sir."

The Time Lord winced at the name and gave the man a confused glance.

"My Lady has bought the Estate from Sir Powell's widow at the occasion of her return from Germany. I am sorry for your loss, did you know Sir Powell well?" The butler explained at the strange reaction from the Doctor.

"No, I...who is this Lady of yours?"

"I suppose you should know my Lady better than me. She told me you would be one of her oldest acquaintances. Lady Astrid from the Forest of Fob." Stated Everett Hughes with great pride in his voice, "the most noble person in the universe."

"I have never heard that name before."

"My Lady told me you would hardly remember her, Sir. It has been a long time since you and my Lady have met."

"You seem to be very fond of your Lady." The Doctor said slightly annoyed by the poverty of information he had gotten so far.

"Beware your tone, Sir. I would never allow anyone to insult my Lady. I owe her my life, the life of my wife and my child's life. Don't dare to debase her,Sir."

"Oh, I never would. Can I see her now? Would love to thank her for my rescue."

"My Lady will not meet or communicate with you. She has no wish to talk to you but I will convey your gratitude."

"I just can't remember her and I never forget a face. Is there maybe a picture of Lady Astrid?"

"My Lady has no longer a face."

"What?!"

"Just like I said, Sir. Would you like a cup of tea?"

"No, I want to know where I am and who I'm with!"

"Sir, Lady Astrid told me you can stay as long you wish to stay here. Until you leave she will not return. She told me you would certainly know her and you should also be familiar with her name. It is supposed to tell you everything you need to know."

"Why does she not want to talk to me? And this name tells me absolutely nothing!"

"Lady Astrid has not been so kind as to explain herself and I don't dare asking my Lady on topics she refuses to talk about. I had my Lady's word that your well being would mean the entire universe to her but she would never want to meet you again. If I dare say, Sir: Your presence upset my Lady in a way I thought she would not be capable of."

Everett Hughes turned on his heels and left the Time Lord alone with his thoughts unwilling to answer one more question as he saw the Doctor opening his mouth for further questions.

**So my dear readers: have you already figured out who Lady Astrid is and what her name means? (I know it's not a hard guess but hey, I want some comments;))**

**Therefore: Review please!**


	5. Red Herring

Madame Vastra was furious, angry and worried. Not alone she had had to leave an amusingly drunk baron Roderic at the theatre who was just about to tell her an absurd tale of a dwarf who had robbed his wife's jewels but also she had not been able to follow the Doctor.

She still had a feeling the Doctor would be in danger and that it would have been him who had been in this carriage behind the battered tavern. It was no good sign the Doctor would refuse to meet her, of course they had had a bumpy start and the Doctor had really had a tough job to do before Madame Vastra had quitted hunting down tunnel workers in revenge for her people's death; but afterwards? She considered him to be one of her few genuine friends and always thought she would be the same to him and now he had given his best to ignore her.

Well, as if the Doctor would not be a complicated creature. But still, these men following him and his behaviour. Maybe he was in real great danger and had just tried to protect her? And she had let him down, had lost his track.

"I'm really a great detective!" She sighed, disappointed by herself as she turned home only to tell Jenny that she had not come further in the case of Lady Astrid and had encountered the Doctor only to loose him within seconds. Her wife would have a good laugh.

"A dwarf!" Madame Vastra gasped out and stood still so abruptly a drunken sailor bumped right into her back. Baron Roderic had not been drunk she just did not listen. Dwarfs did in fact exist, various kinds of dwarfs in fact. How could she have been so daft? She was herself not a human but a Silurian and thinking of dwarfs there where about three alien species who would look like fairytale dwarfs to human eyes.

"Think,think,think!" Madame Vastra was talking to herself. "Someone like Lady Astrid, a woman with many secrets, someone who would not reveal her name, someone who was in a terrible state of health, only burnt flesh and yet alive, someone who knew facts on future history and had access to future medical treatment would not get robbed by anyone."

Whatever this ruby truly was, someone like Lady Astrid would be able to defend it if it meant that much to her. Lady Astrid was not someone to claim for help.

Madame Vastra's jaw dropped open and she started running.

"The Doctor is in London, alone. And a woman turns up to distract his only friends in this time and region. The Doctor walks into a tavern but does not return and a carriage leaves too quickly..."

Madame Vastra had a nasty grin among her lips. In fact Lady Astrid had done it right, Vastra had been indeed distracted but Lady Astrid had not known that Vastra had up to this night not known about the Doctor's presence in London.

"Nobody fools me and abducts the Doctor while I'm around." Madame Vastra told herself and run home hoping it would not be too late. The night was almost over, she had wasted hours on not seeing the obvious.

"Jenny! Get me my sword and make yourself ready for battle. The Doctor has been abducted by this Astrid bitch. Quick!"

Jenny was ready within seconds armed with several knives, two swords, a laser blaster and dressed in a special ultra - tight leather suit.

Madame Vastra was always awestruck when she saw her Jenny like that, a dark angel, a determined warrior and only hers. The two women jumped into a slightly modified carriage which would take them within minutes to the place Lady Astrid had told her to go if the ruby had been found.

"How do you know anyone will be there?" Jenny asked

"This woman is not stupid. There must be a stolen ruby somewhere but the whole getting it back thing was a distraction. According to her, the plan is still working: the Doctor is abducted and I'm hunting a ruby. So when the Doctor does not return and I find a ruby, or there is no ruby at all, or this address would not exist, we would know that it must have been her. Therefore I hope we'll find something at this address. At least a clue."

"Shouldn't we get Strax?"

"The trigger-happy potato? I'd prefer to get the Doctor out of whatever mess he's in again alive."

"Vastra?" Jenny said in a low voice fluttering her eyelashes at her Lizard-Lady.

"Yes."

"I've missed this. You and me in our battle suits, armed and at the brink of an adventure."

"Promise I'll rip that thing off your body when everything is all right again." Vastra answered tensed faced but still she licked her lips at the thought.

Jenny and Vastra reached Powell Estate at half past ten in the morning, they did not kept their selves up with good manners but drove down the doors with the laser blaster. Poor butler Hughes was so scared he collapsed instantly.

"Come out Lady Astrid! We know about you're plan. The game is over. Just let the Doctor go!"

Entering the kitchen Jenny and Vastra finally found a highly surprised Time Lord who momentarily pointed a fish finger at Madame Vastra while he bit into his sonic screwdriver.

"Oi! That was supposed to be done the other way around. Never mind. Jenny! Vastra! Good to see you! What leads you two here? I have already asked my host about this enormous breakfast but he told me it was only for me. Don't think it had not made me suspicious."

The two women where dumbstruck. Hesitantly they lowered their guns and exchanged a glance. Jenny nodded and Vastra stepped up to the guzzling Time Lord and slapped him in the face.

"Oi, what was that for? Okay, sorry for yesterday. Should have greeted you at the theatre but I was in a really bad mood. Hot chocolate? I have no clue about my host but she's great at being a host." The Doctor said with a huge grin.

"We thought you had been abducted and you where about to be executed or worse. Instead you're having the biggest meal ever! And stop pointing at me with greasy fish!" Vastra hissed infuriated.

"In fact, I had been abducted and I was indeed about to face my end. You should really try fish fingers and bit of custard with it."

"Sir, are these your friends?" Butler Hughes asked bedazzled.

"Yes! Friends, Jenny and Madame Vastra."

The butler sighed heavily: "My Lady told me you would be eccentric, Sir. Do you mind if I'd take a rest?"

"No, not at all, Everett!"

The butler left the three alone as he climbed the stairs to his room mumbling to himself: " Fish fingers and custard and therefore I've been taught to cook in France!"

"So, what made you interrupt my breakfast so violently? Is Strax hiding around the corner?"

Madame Vastra explained what she had deducted from her encounter with Lady Astrid and from following the Doctor last night.

"I don't like this at all and besides this place is covered with technology from all centuries, did you notice the perception filters yet? This woman is obviously capable of time travel."

"Of course. There are way too much coincidences than to be just coincident." The Doctor laughed at his bad pun.

"I think we should try talking to the butler once more." Jenny suggested.

"Don't think it would help unless we settle into torture." Vastra replied and the Doctor gave her a severe stare.

"I was just thinking out loud." Vastra replied innocently.

"Shut up for a second. I have to wrap my head around this: You, Vastra are distracted by chasing a red ruby. I'm getting abducted only to be saved in the last second. I'm not getting only healed but I feel better than in ages which could have only been done by Nanogenes, an achievement of the thirty first century. My sonic screwdriver and my Tardis key had been taken from me but returned...Sorry I don't get it. What would be the point in all that?"

"Could she have made a duplicate of the Tardis key?"

"Na, I would sense that."

"You forgot to mention that you had been sleeping for hours. That hardly ever happens." Jenny chuckled.

Suddenly the Time Lord's eyes became wide and he jumped off his seat.

"Stupid, stupid,stupid! It's so obvious and brilliant! And I'm so thick sometimes but I always get there at the end. Tah!" He embraced Jenny and gave her kiss on her cheek. Vastra slapped him therefore once again.

"Jenny the genius!" He burst out and spun her around.

The two women stared at the mad man with his glowing eyes. The Time Lord was bursting from energy and excitement. Everett Hughes run down the stares. The poor man was now totally confused by his strange guests. Neither of them understood what this was about.

"Don't you see it? This is not about me, or the Tardis, or my sonic screwdriver. It's about something that is _in_ the Tardis! She had hours to get into the Tardis and look ehm...well, I don't know what she had been looking for. Let's go and find out!"

**My dear readers!**

**I hope you are all enjoying this so far but please let me know what you think: do I entertain you? Are you getting bored? Is it too long? **

**I'm going to bed now and I'd love to read some reviews when I wake up ;)**


	6. The things we find

The Doctor rushed inside the Tardis, eager to find out at what Lady Astrid had stolen. Anxious she might have damaged his beloved ship and excited because this woman meant a distraction for the Timelord.

He was busy again and it made him forget why he had settled down in Victorian England, he did not think about the Pond's or River. Well, not constantly. Dancing at the edge of death made the Timelord in a strange way feel alive.

Jenny and Vastra where close behind him.

"So?" Vastra frowned, the ship looked untouched to her, at least there was no obvious damage.

"I don't know yet. I keep a lot of things in here. How do you suppose me to notice in the blink of an eye what's missing?" The Doctor stated in a mocking and slightly arrogant tone.

The Doctor was running round, rummaging, throwing things from one side to another, scrabbling about boxes. The chaos was perfect within seconds.

"Doctor. Doc-toor. Doctor!" Vastra yelled at him.

"What is it now?!"

"Isn't that ship telepathically connected to you?"

"Yes. And?"

"Wouldn't it be easier if you'd asked your ship if someone has been here?"

The Doctor stopped instantly in his frantic actions and stared at Vastra.

"You are not in best form, aren't you? What happened, Doctor?"

"Nothing. I'm totally fine, just need to focus on the Tardis." He said it in a tone that made sure that further questions on his well being would not be welcomed.

" That is odd. That is really, really odd," the Doctor muttered.

Vastra and Jenny shot him both a glare but kept silent.

"The Tardis tells me that nothing had been taken. She tells me no one had been here since I left."

Jenny dropped down in the jump seat, slightly annoyed. This whole thing seemed to be false alarm from start to finish. Maybe someone had just had a really bad joke on the Doctor? She stared at the console and dozed nearly off at the sight of the various blinking lights. She loved the colours and tried to figure out what purpose these lights might have.

One light stood out. It was brighter and deeper at the same time. Different from the others. This one glow reminded her of something.

Jenny focused only on this specific light and her mind flooded away. She was back home with Madame Vastra and hiding in the closet. Seeing something she should have never seen, something bigger and more beautiful that anything else before and after. Desire, longing, passion filled her. These feelings faded suddenly to be replaced by a far stronger emotion.

Jenny was overwhelmed by love. Pure love, there was nothing else any more. She was at home, staring at Madame Vastra and there was only love. So beautiful, so unspoiled and pure.

Suddenly the feeling changed, the love was still there, as enormous as ever but there was another feeling as well. A loss greater than anyone could imagine. A loss and a pain huge enough to fill the entire universe.

Jenny shivered and cried, twitched and yelled out loud. She was lying on the floor weeping desperately.

" Doctor! Doctor! Help her! Do something! Jenny! Jenny! Wake up! You have to wake up, fight it. Jenny! Come back. I am here. It's me. Jenny, it's me. Vastra is here, please wake up my love. Please, I love you so." Vastra hold Jenny in her arms, she was petrified.

Jenny's eyes snapped open and with all her strength she clung to Madame Vastra: "Don't leave me, don't ever leave me!" Jenny's arms were wrapped tightly around the other women's body in total desperation, holding her so tight as if she would never let her go again.

Madame Vastra could barely calm Jenny down. Her young wife had turned from a warrior into a sobbing wreck within seconds. After three cups of tea and Vastra's repeated affirmations that she would not leave Jenny's state turned finally back to normal leaving her only slightly shivering.

"What the hell do you keep in this ship! What was that?!" Vastra exhaled infuriated.

The Doctor's eyes narrowed in frustration and anger: "I'd love to know myself. She was staring at the console all the time, right?"

Vastra nodded and the Doctor approached his console like an animal tamer. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and the familiar buzzing filled the air.

"Oh! Hello you little beauty." His eyes light up in curiosity.

"Doctor, what is it?"

"I guess I have just detected what you where supposed to find. Please, come over Vastra but don't look at it's light. Something is wrong with it."

Vastra stepped up to the Timelord and breathed in heavily: "Lady Astrid's ruby!"

"Ah, this is not a ruby. It is hard as a diamond. Yes, I give you that but according to the scanner it is organic."

"You mean this thing is actually alive?"

"Exactly."

Madam Vastra frowned: "This thing is dangerous, we should destroy it."

The Doctor showed his brightest grin: "Where would be the fun in that? I have a box to keep this little jewel safe, don't worry. Besides, now I really, really want to meet this Lady Astrid and what better opportunity is there than to return her property?!"

**Hello my lovely readers!**

**How do you like this chapter? Any expectations? Shall I reveal Lady Astrid's identity?**

**Please,please,pleeeeeeeeeease leave a review or a comment or at least a happy or a sad smiley! **

**Thank you so much for reading :-)**


	7. Tales from a Wolf I

Lady Astrid felt the Oncoming Storm. This storm would come for her. She felt his rage drifting towards her like a fire.

He thought she had hurt one of his friends, had made her suffer wilfully. The Time Lord was furious and prepared to rip the town apart just to find her.

It was always the same with that man, he needed to know why things would happen and he would not let go. Especially not when one of his beloved ones had been wounded.

As if she had want Jenny to get hurt. She had not known herself what power her heart would have upon humans. At least there would be no constant damage and the plan had worked: the Doctor was reunited with his friends and she knew above all people how much he would need them.

The Doctor and his companions had returned to Powell Estate and Everett Hughes had done what she had asked him to do. He had informed her and told her that the Time Lord and his friends had returned with her heart, eager to meet her.

She had always known how her tale would come to it's end, had always known that she would meet the Time Lord for a last time. But Lady Astrid was not ready for this, she did not ever want to see him again, did not want to face him, explain to him.

But she knew it was time. The moment had come at last and there was no way to detain the events any longer.

The Wolf inside her howled.

The Wolf had always been a part of her.

The Wolf was awaking for a last time.

The Doctor had never understood what she had become after the events on Satellite 5. He had not absorbed the Time Vortex from her but had only sent the Wolf to sleep. And the beast had slumbered until it had been forced to wake.

She would have any right to hate the Doctor, to despise him, to blame him. It had been him who had doomed her to her terrible fate. Of course, he did not knew it back than but he could have figured it out.

Looking back at these long gone days it was so obvious.

How could he have not noticed? A London shop-girl had suddenly been able to built a dimension cannon, to reset time. It had been her who had sent Donna Noble to him, rewriting history and bringing him back from the dead.

Yet, it had not been enough. He had abandoned her once again. For the third time now. With himself, regenerated into a human.

But he had never understood. He had been unable to see the the gravity of her promise.

It seemed like a joke: leaving her there on this beach in the parallel world with the only man in all universes she would ever love, saying his last farewell, giving her the greatest hope, the greatest promise of love just to tear it from her within seconds.

He should have known. Donna Noble had not been able to live with the mind of a Time Lord and neither had the human Doctor been able to do so.

She had hold him in her arms when he had collapsed and his blood had soaked her clothes, her hair and her skin. When his mind had burnt and his screams had filled her ears.

The only person able to help had gone to another universe.

Never had she been able to scrub that feeling off her skin afterwards. She felt his hot blood on her entire body – always. The feeling never disappeared. Though she knew it was her own blood that constantly spilled from her oppressed body.

By then she could guess herself that she was no longer a human. She would neither talk, nor eat, nor drink for weeks but her body would not betray her, would never feel weak or feeble.

Six months later Rose Tyler returned to Bad Wolf Bay for a last time, willing to drown herself in the ocean; and Rose Tyler died to rise again as the Wolf.

She had felt the exact moment when the human in her vanished and died in the cold water to be replaced by the Wolf.

The Wolf could see so much more. She could see time itself. Every string, every turn. Everything that ever was or ever would be or ever could be. The Wolf could touch time, twist it, turn it. Force time to obey her.

After her return home she forbade to be called Rose Tyler.

She calmed down a bit and carried own because which other choice did she have? If you are not allowed to die, you have to live.

The Wolf protected her new universe like she always did. She saw her family grow old and fade into time while she was doomed to stay.

One day the cracks appeared. Cracks in the fabric of the universe itself. Scars that would not heal in a very long time.

The Wolf could hear the question. The first question. The oldest question in the universe. The question that must never be answered. These words had been scattered through time and space like her own; and the Wolf listened and watched.

Darkness fell over the universe. Lost and forgotten creatures rose from the dark and tried to destroy her world in order to rip the walls between the universes apart. In order to get to _him_.

They all returned: the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Angels. But they could not defeat the Wolf. On the other hand the Wolf had not yet risen to her full capacity and was therefore unable to throw this army of billions of monsters back. She fought for decades in a bloody war, a war that would still go on if she had not been clever.

At the end it was a trick. She trapped the creatures with herself in a pocket universe without hope for escape. Only the Wolf could open the walls of this universe she had created herself but she never would open them if it meant the salvation of so many others.

Her own life in exchange for billion others. The trade seemed fair enough.

She did not knew how many years she had been in the pocket universe trapped along with her worst enemies. They tortured her in order to force her to release them and they nearly broke her. The constant physical pain and the psychological pressure would have brought even Gods down but she had made her choice: They would never defeat her.

The Wolf locked away her mind and her feelings. She hid the most precious feeling of them all, the origin of her humanity and her selflessness and her care in the deepest corner of her heart. And then she placed her love for the Doctor between these emotions so even if they would defeat her, her love would die at last.

The Wolf hardened her heart so it would remain unbroken. Her heart would never be compromised, never be spoiled. Her feelings would remain forever, locked in a ruby beyond her enemies reach.

Every night she died and got restored by the Wolf.

They ripped off her skin and burnt her flesh. They drowned her and froze her to death. Day after day and year after year.

The Cyberman tried to upgrade her in order to make her obey at last but the Wolf would burn the chips that had been implanted in her head instantly.

Centuries in torture passed but the universe was safe.

But a pocket universe is not a permanent solution. It is unstable and one day it collapsed and the monsters finally died while the Wolf survived.

She had been expelled from her prison and been sent back to her origin. Earth. In the Doctor's universe.

But not even the Wolf was able to mend her smashed body any more. She had endured centuries of torture and had been thrown through three universes. Her body was beyond restore, there would never be a cure or release from pain.

Life was hell. She only contained of burnt flesh, literally hold together by her clothes.

The Wolf would not allow her to die. Not until she would have fulfilled the promise entirely:

"_I want you to be safe, my Doctor!"_

_**My gorgeous readers!**_

_**First things first: THANK YOU! Ten reviews :) reading them felt like opening Christmas parcels!**_

_**But right now I'm really, really,really nervous. After all these great comments on my story I'm afraid to disappoint you. I truly hope this chapter has not been a let down but even if it was: please let me know!**_

_**Your comments mean sooooooooo much to me!**_


	8. Tales from a Wolf II

Her journey on Earth started just the way the last time when she had been there: with the Doctor's death.

The Wolf had landed in Germany in the year 1938 to watch the Doctor die.

Her eyes snapped open in a forest. When she raised her bruised, burnt hands to her eyes she was herself unable to believe the huge amount of damage. There was not an inch of her body that wouldn't hurt. Nevertheless she pulled herself together and made her way through the wood until she reached an abandoned mansion.

The villa had been ransacked by the Nazis but gratefully she found clothes to cover up her smashed body. Something whimpered miserably and she found a little dog under a pile of shelves. The poor creature was nearly starved to death and wearing a little neckband with it's name on it: Fob.

The Wolf was in a wood in Germany accompanied by a little dog called Fob. She laughed so hard when she put the letters together: Wald (the German term for forest) and Fob. Turning the letters around they said Bad Wolf.

She could tell that the Tardis was near and by then she knew why she had been sent here: to protect him. He had to be in serious trouble and she followed the Tardis' energy pattern but like last time with Donna she was too late.

The Wolf witnessed horrified how a curled haired woman killed the Doctor though she should love him. Worst of all, she could see that the Doctor's current companions where the child's parents but they where unable to recognise each other.

It was the first time she noticed "the Silence" and she followed them back the Doctor's time line into his past to Demon's run. She saw his rise and his power,how he turned an entire army around with the mention of his name.

The child who would one day kill the Doctor had just been robbed from his parent's and the Doctor went on a desperate mission to find her.

She managed to remain unseen all the time while she led the Doctor to little Melody Pond. If the girl would ever meet her parents she would not kill the Doctor but get stopped by her mother. And so the Wolf made sure the Doctor did.

Like Donna, who had saved the Doctor at the very last moment River did now the same.

To be honest: she really had no clue how the Doctor had gotten the stupid idea to let the girl grow up at the same time as her parents and turn them into childhood friends but any ways: the plan had worked and his time line had been restored for good.

The Wolf sneaked herself into the highest ranks of the Silence in order to prevent and to sabotage their plans while giving the Doctor clues how to help himself if direct intervention was impossible.

At the same time she worked on a way to prevent the worst plan the Silence had compassed from success.

_Trenzalore_.

The Great Intelligence had found a way to turn all of the Doctor's victories into losses. One day the Doctor would be buried there but his time stream would remain. An open wound to the universe.

She travelled until the end of time to see Trenzalore after his death. Her ability to see time helped her to understand who the Doctor was to all of creation.

There was not a single life in the universe left that the Doctor had not touched. His life, his rise and fall was all-embracing bonded with the entity of space and time.

If anyone would enter his time stream to change it the universe would cease to exist.

She would not let it happen.

The Wolf herself was unable to enter the time stream as her own life was entwined with the Doctor's life in so many ways. Meeting him at an earlier point in his time line would cause a massive paradox which would threaten the universe likewise.

She had to think of something else.

Seeing all of time, it's infinite potential gave her the incentive to create the impossible.

The Doctor might have touched indirectly every living being but he had not touched the beings that had never lived. The ones who where never meant to live. The impossibles.

Looking into time she saw two humans who where never meant to meet each other though they would fit perfectly.

This was not a fixed point in time but still not a single time line would lead these two people together.

What a wonderful coincidence!

The Wolf interfered and guided a leaf into a human men's face to force his path of life into another direction and he became the father of Clara Oswin Oswald. The impossible girl was about to be born.

Looking at the girl's time stream she noticed how perfect she would be for her beloved Doctor, how capable of saving him.

She visited little Clara when she was born and hold her in her arms, transferring a piece of her endless love for the Doctor to the child:

"One day you will meet a boy. The cleverest boy in the universe. And you will meet countless monsters. But he will be worth it, all of it. You will be the one who will tell the boy to run. To run and to remember you. This is what you will tell him: _Run you clever boy and remember_."

Connecting the Doctor's and the Clara's life was easy then. When Clara was about to buy herself a computer Lady Astrid won over the salesperson to give her the Tardis phone number.

The Doctor would be safe.

There was only one thing left to be done: to save the Doctor from himself.

**My wonderful readers!**

**I am overwhelmed by your support! You have no idea how much I love reading your comments :)**

**Special thanks to one guest review: in my previous chapter I referred in one passage to the wolf as a male. This was of course a mistake. Thank you! I did not notice it.**

**The next chapter is almost done and it will be the one we are all looking forward to: The Wolf and the Oncoming Storm will meet at last and I am so excited to see your reactions!**

**This story is on one hand written for myself but on the other hand it has been written to be read and to please.**

**Therefore I beg you once more: give me a comment on the story. Your opinion truly matters to me!**


	9. The Wolf and the Storm

Lady Astrid returned to Powell Estate enshrouded in a long black cape, her head covered with a lace veil and her face hidden by a delicate white porcelain mask with golden cheeks and red lips.

The Doctor was sitting in her library behind her desk. His feet casually situated on her shiny table top. He was fully aware of himself, a picture of total self consciousness watching all of her movements with piercing eyes.

Her little side table had been pulled over next to him. On top of the small table was a wooden box with Gallyfreyan symbols. The palm of his right hand lay on top of the box. Madame Vastra was standing at his right side, hands at her sword. Jenny was on the left, likewise ready for a battle.

The Lady ignored them and rushed instead to Everett Hughes. Her loyal friend and servant looked utterly scared. Despite her pain she pulled him into a gentle hug.

"My dear friend" her voice nearly cracked "the time has come, I have to leave and I will not return."

"My Lady, are these people threatening you? Are they going to hurt you or..?" he was unable to finish the sentence.

"No my friend. It's just the way I've told you. I told you we would once say farewell to each other."

"I am not going to let you down. I will stay, I will be at your side like you where at mine." The man replied firmly.

Lady Astrid handed out an envelope: "Everett, this is the deed ownership for Powell Estate. You will find in here the access to all my bank accounts and your title. Lord Everett Hughes. Sounds good enough for me." She chuckled.

"I don't want this. Tell these people to leave and we get back to normal!" He creaked out through gritted teeth.

"Farewell my friend. It's time" she whispered and the man nodded. Arguing was of no use.

"We will miss you. Me and my wife and my child. You where family to us."

They all waited patiently until Everett had left the house.

Lady Astrid turned slowly towards the Time Lord. It was the first time for her to get a proper picture of his new appearance: the green eyes, the brown hair, the prominent chin, the dark brown frock and the bow tie.

It had been dark when she had rescued him from the two criminals at the graveyard and she had been too exhausted after she had pulled his limb body out of the pit to look at him. Besides she had feared it. Feared he would wake up and she would have to talk to him, feared to hear his voice. She had burnt the corpses of the two murderers and called Everett to take him to her home. She had given him the Nano Genes in the dark and placed his sonic screwdriver next to him and put the Tardis key back around his neck.

It was time. She would hear his voice again. After so many years. She was glad that he would not recognise her immediately, her voice had changed over the years of torture.

"Hello! I am the Doctor. I suppose you know that already. And these are Jenny and Madame Vastra. But you know that either. What we don't know is _who_ you are." His voice was cheerful but she could sense the suppressed rage.

"I have told you my name." Lady Astrid answered emotionless.

"No. You. Have. Not." His voice was sharp. He gave her a feeling as if he was slapping her with his words.

Lady Astried refused to reply to this: "You are sitting in my chair but as far as I remember you have always been a bit rude."

"Fascinating statement from somebody I've just recently met. Take off that mask and reveal yourself. Stop playing and tell me why you are putting up this ridiculous charade."

"What charade?"

The Time Lord nearly exploded and began with his accusations: "You abducted me! Let me got beaten to pulp! Stole the keys for the Tardis! Managed to put a weapon on my Tardis!" His voice turned silent, threatening and freezing cold. He narrowed his eyes: "You hurt Jenny. I do not allow anyone to hurt my friends."

"I did not abduct you. Nor did I steal from you. I think it's quite the opposite: I brought you something. I guess you have it in this box on my side table?" Her voice stayed calm, the Time Lord would not intimidate her. She knew him too well, he would not hurt her but talk.

He grinned at her but his eyes remained dark: "Nice little gift. It could have killed her."

By then Lady Astrid started to loose her patience: "Ridiculous. She might have gotten over emotional, but besides? This thing is not meant to harm but to heal. It only shows you what's most precious to your heart. "

"Would you be so kind as to explain how it ended up in the Tardis?"

"_You_ brought it there."

"Nice try, but I don't suffer from amnesia" he said sarcastically "How did you get this thing into the Tardis?"

"Ask her" she snapped back.

"I did. She told me nobody had been on the Tardis since I left my ship last night."

"Last night?" she burst out in laughter "This thing has been in your possession for hundreds of years by now. It has _always_ been yours. Only yours, from the _first_ _moment_ on."

Lady Vastra's grip around her sword tightened and she moved slightly towards Lady Astrid: "You turned my wife from a soldier into an emotional wreck. You sent me out to look for this damned thing. You threaten my wife and my friend and I will have my revenge upon you."

"I assure you, whatever you want me to endure: I already did" She answered in her coldest voice "I sent you out to look for it because I want you to meet the Doctor. Time. I can see it. I knew you would meet him at the theatre. He needs his friends around him, he may not be alone. Especially not today."

Madame Vastra rushed towards her and grabbed her throat firmly: "Maybe I should slice you up? How would you like that? You don't threaten us. I promise."

The Doctor bellowed at her to let go off Lady Astrid and she turned her head towards the Lizard-Lady: "I expected more from you. The Silence made up a less sophisticated plan to murder the Doctor this time. I expected you to find him at the theatre as you always start your investigations there and to protect him. I barely had the strength to pull him out of the grave."

" Okay, let's try this again. Who are you Lady Astrid from the Forest of Fob." The Doctor cut her off but his voice was a bit softer this time.

Lady Astrid was still struggling to get her breath back: "I have told you it is a German name. Correctly it's Lady Astrid vom Wald von Fob" She paused and laughed softly "You can be remarkably daft for a genius."

"Wald von Fob? What is that supposed to mean?"

She shrugged her shoulders: "You are seriously not getting it, aren't you? Two words: Wald and Fob. Go on. Play with the letters."

"Tell. Me. Who. You. Are."

"I have told you my name! It his hidden in the name I am currently using. Just put the letters together and use the hints. Powell Estate? Any bells ringing?" She said slightly annoyed,

She had seriously not foreseen this violent reaction. The Doctor jumped forward fast as a cat of prey and smashed her body into her book shelf: "Who do you think you are to vilify this name? Who do you think you are to say these words out loud in my presence?! These words keep me fighting and I swear to you: if you harmed her you will regret it. I promise!"

Now, he was the Oncoming Storm. Purest rage. She could see it in his eyes: the regret, the pain, the loss.

"Doctor?" Jenny put her hand reassuringly on his back. "Doctor, please calm down. This leads nowhere. Release her."

"Doctor, what did she tell you? I don't understand." Vastra asked him.

"She said Bad Wolf." He clenched and breathed in heavily. Finally he regained his countenance.

"Still so many emotions? After all these years?" Lady Astrid teased.

If Jenny would not had hold him back he would have chocked her according to his facial expression and his clenched fists.

"Doctor, what is a Bad Wolf?" Jenny tried to distract him.

"It's not a _what_" he stated in an offended tone"The Bad Wolf has been a companion of mine. I have trusted her above anyone else. She was my friend, my defender and my...lover" his voice nearly broke "her name was..."

"Hush Doctor! You may not say _my name_."

**My gorgeous readers!**

**I am really excited right now! I have worked really, really hard on this chapter and I am dying to know what you think of it. The Wolf and the Storm have finally met each other. Are you curious where this leads?**

**Pleaaaaaaaaase leave a comment and make me happy :) **


	10. Pterodactyls

Grave silence fell after her last sentence. The tension in the room was hardly to endure. The Doctor's face was a mess of emotions: hope,rage, incredulousness, fear, pain, despise.

He trembled, his whole body shivered, "Liar. She would never come to me in disguise. Hide herself like a thief in the shadows or play these tricks on me. Liar!", He stated infuriated.

Vastra and Jenny tightened. Vastra leaned over to him and whispered,"Don't trust her, they always try to get to you through the one's you love. Be careful."

"How could I have returned to you like _this_? After so many years?",Her voice was so soft now, merely a hush and one could hear she was crying under her mask.

"Prove it." He closed the distance between them until he was only inches away. They stood face to face, her veil would move under his breath. "Prove it! You are not going to trick me. _This_ is disgusting." His face was distorted from despise and his eyes burnt her with his rage. "_Prove_ it!"

The Wolf could no longer hold herself. She sobbed and the words escaped her mouth too quickly while she struggled to keep herself talking and to prevent her voice from breaking,

"The very first word you ever said to me was: "run". You never told me to stop by the way... I saved your life the first time because I was a gymnast at school. Bronze medal, remember? Our first date: we had chips and you showed me the end of earth. How it burnt and Cassandra held us all hostage .You want to show me Barcelona, the planet not the city, but we never made it there. You mentioned Barcelona twice: before and after your regeneration. We met Cassandra, the last human again on New Earth, in New New New York. Before, we had a pick-nick on the apple grass. She took control over my body and when she released me...I almost collapsed but _you_ caught me. We where looking at each other and you said... "

"Hello," the Doctor paused to catch breath "I said hello."

"Hello," She croaked out.

"It's really you," he whispered and his fingertips touched the hem of her veil. His rage had gone and he cried silently, "Let me see you, please."

She took his hands gently and shook her head, "You can't. I...I don't have a face. Not any more."

"Please. After so many years. You are really back...," his voice broke and he breathed in heavily "How? Why?"

He lifted her veil and his fingertips hovered above her mask.

"Please. Don't," The Wolf pleaded desperately and stepped back, trembling.

"Doctor," She said his name the way she had always said it, even her voice sounded again like her own and he had to bite his tongue not to answer "Rose".

It had become very silent in the room. The Wolf and the Oncoming Storm where looking at each other. Vastra and Jenny hardly dared to breathe.

"What happened to my Wolf?" he finally whispered, his voice was muffled from tears.

She still hesitated, "I came back...The ruby...it is my heart...take it. You have to hold it in your hand. It will show you who I am and hide how I look like."

He did as she had told him and she took off her cape and the veil. She hesitated and got finally rid of her mask.

The Doctor breathed in: "You are as beautiful as ever. My beautiful, beautiful R-"

"Don't say my name, not yet." It sounded like an order and he obeyed because he saw the plea behind the command.

The Wolf was back with her long blonde hair and her big brown eyes. Her skin was very pale, paler than he could remember and deeply hidden in her eyes was a golden spark. Her eyes gave it away, she must be about his age now and he could tell she was able to see time. But besides these changes and most important: it was _her_. There was no doubt. His Rose had returned.

"Don't let go of my heart. You have to hold it. Promise. I don't want you to see what I've become. I will remain undamaged to your eyes as long as you are holding it."

"I won't," he assured her.

She approached slowly, every step costed her so much strength. Strength, she actually no longer had.

"May I?" she whispered softly and touched his temples lovingly. He nodded and closing the distance she leaned her forehead against his, "You must not open the black doors in my mind. Never."

The Wolf showed him her life. She told him that she had lost the meta-crisis Doctor and drowned herself in the ocean to rise as the Wolf. She did not show him how he died. She showed him the war that had overtaken her universe and how she had tricked them and trapped them in a pocket universe. She showed him how she had been veered through the walls of the pocket universe, the walls of her own universe to land finally in his universe. Broken and shattered. Only to find and save him. Him and his companions. How she had found River and lead him to her.

But he got curious. Her mind was full of black, closed doors. He wondered what she would hide from him, what she had done and with the wonder came doubt. He again doubted it was her. Feared it was not her. Feared it was her.

He must be certain and so he turned and ran through one of the doors in her mind to enter her worst memories and in the blink of an eye he finally understood what she had been through.

The death of his human self.

The inability to die.

The centuries of torture.

A tiny part from her pain flooded over into his mind and he nearly drowned. Oh, it was only so small and yet enough to break his hearts. This pain was beyond anything he had ever endured. The end of Gallifrey had been psychological pain but this constant physical and psychological pain over hundreds of years – this must have been beyond belief.

She smashed the black doors in her mind shut and pulled back instantly but he had already seen it.

It was too late and he dropped her heart to the floor in his desperation and horror.

As he dropped it, her real face became visible: her right eye had been torn out, she no longer had a cheek on the left and you could see her teeth through the hole in her damaged skin. Her flesh was burnt black and dangled in shreds from her face, her hair had been partially ripped out and her lips - these gorgeous sensual lips - where no longer.

They all gasped in horror. Her face had only been visible for an instant but they would never be able to forget the sight. She turned instantly and wrapped herself up in her cape.

"Face buried in his hands, the Doctor sobbed without restraint, "I am sorry. I am so, so sorry. I..."

She was outraged, "I trusted you! You promised. Promised not to enter. Promised not to drop it."

He dropped down in front of her and touched the fabric of her black dress and kissed it. He dared not touching her because he knew now that even the slightest touch was pain. Unthinkable pain.

The Time Lord remained on his knees, hesitantly glancing upwards he whispered desperately, "Forgive me. I did not knew..."

The Wolf sighed, "I have endured so much. Though I had never thought it would be so arduous to regain your confidence," According to the sound of her voice she almost grinned.

"Why are you here? In Victorian London and doing nothing," She asked changing the topic, letting his betrayal go.

He looked surprised, "You where following me since the events in Berlin. Don't you know? I have lost so many people."

"You lost so many people before and never did you grieve like this. You always moved on without looking back. You never grieved _for_ _me_ like this," she stated with more than just a bit of jealousy in her voice.

The Doctor got up from the ground and looked at her face, trying to find her behind the mask, "I have your loss endlessly. Ever since I have lost you. There has not been a single day I did not think about you and there never will be."

She nodded her head and he knew she was not content with this explanation so he decided to tell her the truth,

"I am alone, my Wolf. Entirely. The people I love keep constantly leaving me. I have a terrible life in the eyes of an ordinary human. I travel and I never settle down. And my friends become sooner or later tired of it. I am always left behind at some point. Yes, they fall for the excitement but at the end I am not the one who gets chosen. I can't blame my companions, I can't blame Amy for choosing her husband above me or my wife for living her own adventures but...I am feed up. And tired. So tired. And sometimes there is only one thought in my head: I want to go _home_." He paused and whispered " When I left you I made the worst decision in my entire life. You made me almost feel like home."

"Because I would have chosen you above anything else? Are you telling me you simply found no one better yet? That is your reason for being stuck here?" She sound hurt.

"Pterodactyls." He answered with a sad smile.

"What?" Even Jenny and Vastra asked together with the Wolf in unison and Vastra wondered for an instant if the word was meant to be a code, to make her intervene but when she saw his face she knew to keep her silence.

"Pterodactyls. They are my reason for being here. I made a wrong turn and ended up on this planet. You know which one?"

She nodded and he conceded,

"What I am telling you is that I am a coward. I could not stand the thought to watch you wither and die,to endure being ripped away from you once more. I was so scared that I rather abandoned you and persuaded myself that you where fine, living the fantastic life you deserved. I had been so afraid of loosing you that I'd rather put the walls of an entire universe between you and me!"

She stepped closer and wiped the tears from his face, caressing his cheek.

"My little Wolf. What are you doing here? Why are you doing all this for me?" The Doctor asked and touched her mask tenderly.

"Because I have made a promise," she paused, "Doctor, do you still trust me?"

"Yes."

"You have to be sure."

"I am."

"There is a place we have to go," she sighed, "Together. But you won't like it."

**My gorgeous readers!**

**Thank you so much for the incredible feedback :) Your amazing words make my day and to be honest: I am writing this story to enjoy the wonderful moment when I read your comments (you truly get addicted to the reviews!)**

**The next chapter will probably be the last one. But I think the end will not be you what you are expecting (at least I hope I'll be able to surprise you, we'll find out, okay?)**

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	11. Godsend

"Doctor! I don't believe a single word from this women's mouth. If she is a woman at all. Did you see her face? We should get out of here as long as it's still possible," Madame Vastra whispered anxiously in the Time Lord's ear while her fingers dangled with her sword's knob, staring warily at the veiled woman.

He gave her a firm stare, "No. I will go wherever and whenever she wants me to go."

"Doctor,please," This was Jenny, "She...I don't know what she is but this is not natural, she scares the hell out of me."

He swung around, "Have I not been clear, Jenny? I owe this woman more than anyone else in this universe. If she tells me to go I will follow her even if she decides to take me to my own grave."

"My Doctor," the Wolf said and all the attention was again focused on her. "I am afraid you guessed right," her voice was soft and full of remorse, it had the sound of time and for a moment the power she held in her hands became visible as her figure was enlightened by a golden light.

Jenny gasped and reached for Madame Vastra. The Doctor stepped forward and hesitantly reached out toward his Wolf, but stopped as he met her stare.

As the two gazed upon each other, the room, Madame Vastra, Jenny, and the universe seemed to melt away. In that moment- a moment that lasted for eternity- it was just the Doctor and the Bad Wolf. Finally, the Doctor took a deep breath and nodded, he tried to smirk but failed.

"I am yours. Always have been and always will be. If I have to die, than with you. Together,remember?" He held open his arms in submission and grinned weakly, "Geronimo."

Madame Vastra pulled out her sword, "He might give in to you but I won't. You can have him upon my dead body!"

She turned to the Lizard," It is not up to you to decide" and then Madame Vastra heard her voice inside her head, "The Doctor will leave with me and you will wait here for his return. I promise,he will return. But he will be so sad, so endlessly sad and he will not even remember the reason for his sorrow, he must not remember. Not yet. I need you to take care of him, to be his friend. Because you are now his companion and that's what they do: they care for the Doctor. Please?" Vastra nodded slightly in affirmation. "Good. Leave us alone now!"

Madame Vastra breathed heavily, the terror was visible in her eyes but she turned to Jenny and gave her a sign to leave the room.

The Wolf turned her focus back to the Doctor and asked, "Doctor, do you trust me?"

"Of course," he replied hastily.

She raised an eyebrow, "Really? Tell me then. Tell me that you trust me."

The Doctor stood silent, struggling to understand. Scratching the back of his neck he pushed the hair out of his face until his eyes widened finally in comprehension and he smiled, "Yes, I trust you. Rose Tyler… my life is in your hands."

She nodded quietly, "Thank you...Good. I need you to put the heart back in it's box."

He did it and holding the box he felt something close to a pulse. An odd little thing,that ruby.

He did as he told her.

"Can you feel your heart beat? Beating for such a long time just for you?"

Cold fear and agony flooded his mind but he stood still. If she desired his death she would have it.

She came and entwining their hands she said,"This ends today." And he could only nod.

Trenzalore. She brought them to Trenzalore. The entire planet one silent graveyard and beyond in the distance, The Doctor could see the giant monument that would become his grave.

"B-b-but why, Rose?" He spit out with dread.

She ignored him while she lead the Time Lord in silence towards the putrescent Tardis. At it's entrance she stopped and looked piteously at her shaking Time Lord. "You said you trusted me, but I'm not sure you really do."

"Please, Rose! Why did you bring me here?" he was definitely squeaking now.

"Doctor," she said gently and patted his hand, "don't be afraid."

Rose turned and started walking towards the Tardis in silence. She turned to him when they had reached the entrance.

"You don't trust me," she stated as she watched him standing next to her and shivering as if he had a chill.

"Why did you take me here?"

She caressed the Tardis' doors and entered. He noted that the doors had swung open without the necessity to say his name. His entire life was spread out in front of their eyes. His own golden Time Stream enlightened the dying Tardis, flooding powerful through time and space.

"Doctor," her voice was soft and full of love "don't be afraid."

"I am trying to."

"I love you. I would never hurt you," she caressed his cheeks, hoping he would regain his countenance.

"Rose-I never said...I..."

"No, not now. Not if you don't mean it. These words are not to be spoken out of fear," she told him firmly and squeezed his hand.

"Rose...you know I would die for you ever and ever again. If my death means your salvation, if it can restore you I will be glad to die for you...But... I just want to know..," he sounded entirely defeated.

Doctor," she nodded her head sadly, "Do you really think I would ever demand your death? I never wanted you to die for me but to live with me. Death is so easy. You put your life at stake every single day to safe others. But you never really live. I wanted to live with you, not you to die for me."

"I'm sorry, I've been a coward," he admitted with guilt.

She snorted "Now that would have been a challenge for you,hm?"

Rose sighed and changed the subject, "You didn't understand the prophesy in the Satan's pit. My death wasn't a threat but a chance. For me...would have been bad for the universe,though." The Doctor's head shot up at her words and he wanted to protest but she just nodded and kept talking.

Staying with you… that is what would have killed me. I would have stayed human and I would have aged and died. But that's the fate of humans, they are meant to die. Instead, I became this. A goddess-like wrack in eternal pain, longing for her lost love." Her statement hurt him and he felt so guilty. He wanted to apologise over and over but she wouldn't let him. She did not blame him and she never would.

Rose turned towards his time stream, "Look at your time stream. It is beyond beautiful- it's gorgeous. This is all you. You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."

And he finally saw her too. Her power became visible in his streams of time and he felt like looking at two gigantic streams, flooding down next to each other while they crossed only once in a while.

Somehow, his fear shattered and he had never felt more comfortable in his long life than right now. He was embraced with love. It surrounded him and washed down the heartache. There was nothing to fear, he had come home. He was in the Tardis, in the only home he ever had with the woman who loved him above all. The woman he loved above all. Infinite love. A love that would never die, never be spoiled, never cease. All for him. True eternal love. And he finally noticed that she demanded nothing in return and she never would. She was about to give him something. Something great. He felt like flying, pure joy streamed through his veins, he was high. High from time.

"This is pure time," she declared while she circling his majestic time stream, "Have you ever thought about time? There are infinite options. Infinite varieties. Everything can happen. Everything is possible. But then comes a moment. A single moment. A tiny moment. And one individual makes a decision. The infinity is gone. All the options are gone, gone forever and what remains is a fixed point in time that can never be rewritten. Infinite variety turns into infinite regret. But right now infinity lies before us. Don't you see it? This is your grave, but it doesn't have to be."

He looked at her and began to understand, finally.

"If you would be given the possibility to change one single moment in your life, which one would that be?"

He stared at her in disbelief. She could not really. Could she? Hesitantly he gave her one of the two answers to her question that were true,"I would not leave you. I would not let happen to you what happened."

"Liar," she said teasingly,"There is something far bigger. Go on. Tell me what you desire above all. Tell me what keeps you from living. Tell me about the guilt."

"Gallifrey. It burnt. I burnt it."

"But what if you did not? What if you could have that moment back? Would you change your mind?"

"Rose-I can't. I had to make a decision to let either Gallifrey fall or the entire universe."

"You could have saved them all."

"No," He admitted, eyes full of tears.

"But you did already! My love, you changed your mind back then! Don't you remember? Remember what really happened! You give it actually away once in a while. You just don't notice. Doctor, you refer sometimes to Gallifrey as time locked. Lost to you. Not lost forever."

He stared at her with big eyes as the memory flooded his head and he stirred, "I changed my mind. I really did."

She watched him as his memories came crashing back. Well, only the memories she allowed him to have back. A big red button. Big red Zygons. Something that looked like a snow globe. Gallifrey in a snow globe. Cut off but sound. But the memory was blurry, like trying to catch the vanishing pictures of a dream but it did not bother him. He was full of hope and joy.

"Rose! We will find them! They can bring you back, restore your body. We can have it all. Finally the universe is being fair with me."

He ran towards her, lifted her up and swung around with her in his arms, laughing happily, "I can't believe it! I can go home. I can go home with the woman I love. Rose Tyler I love you!"

"Quite right too," she answered stealing his words from Bad Wolf Bay and laughing, "but you don't love me. Not really. Not until Gallifrey is restored. Not until the guilt is washed away from you and you stop with the self- hatred. The moment when you have to change your mind lies in your past and right in front of us lies your entire past. You have to tell your younger self."

"How? I can't just go back and tell him."

Rose walked over to the box with her heart and gave it to him, "I always believed in you. I always knew you could make better than you did in the first place. Burn Gallifrey. That's so not like you. So uninspired. Normal people would do such a thing," she snorted, "but back then you had no one around you to assure you of yourself. You always need someone who reminds you of what you are capable of. You need someone around you with faith in you. This is my heart. My entire love, my entire faith in you. Give it to your younger self and you will rewrite the past. Time can be rewritten!"

The Doctor gave her a curious stare, "This is what you meant when you said I brought your heart myself into the Tardis? We are inside the Tardis right now and I have to pass it into my time stream and send it to me,right?"

Rose laughed out loud from blitheness and nodded, "Now you are getting it, my daft alien."

He stepped a bit closer to his time stream and looked suspiciously down. He hesitated. This was way too easy: Just toss Rose's heart down there? And the Time Lords jump out of the rabbit hole?

He closed his eyes to focus and could feel the past shift:

The Time War ended without the loss of his people. They where somewhere out there, waiting for him to be recovered. The vision of Gallifrey sharpened the closer he came to his time stream. Sharper and sharper and he gave in. He would go back home. The Time Lords would be able to heal his Rose. They would have the happy end they had always deserved. He was the hero and he had come here to claim his fairytale ending at last.

And finally, he let the box slide from his hands. He just let go.

Well,that was easy


	12. Fairytale Ending

**This chapter was written without help and I'm afraid there might be some mistakes in it...I hope you'll enjoy it any ways. The next chapter will definitely the last one but I've not yet decided what is going to happen so if you want to, you can make some suggestions about the end.**

TIME. LORD. VICTORIOUS.

Finally.

And after hundreds of years filled with endless,terrible pain he deserved it.

The Doctor deserved a fairytale ending more than anyone else, he truly did.

And there it was: everything he ever asked for, wished for, yearned for. All he had ever desired was right there at his fingertips.

He just had to claim it. Claim it all. Claim Gallifrey. Claim Rose.

The Doctor had stared into his own time stream to find the Time War, sending Rose's devotion, trust and love to his younger self in order to give himself enough faith to change the past and as he did so the time lines stirred, shifted and a glorious vision of a possible future rose in front of his eyes:

It smelled right, it felt right: the sensation of being at home! The Doctor found himself in a room enlightened by blending golden light. The light was all around him, swapping over him, washing over him, washing away the pain,the guilt and the haunting memories of the dreadful war, opening his hearts and filling him with love. An entire ocean of golden love.

"Gallifrey falls no more," whispered his heart.

"Gallifrey rises," whispered his Rose.

He saw it: Gallifrey hidden in a gigantic snow globe, hidden from space ,locked beyond time. Safe and sound and eternal. Hidden like the precious human girl, the love of his life, he once had hidden in a parallel universe to save her from her fate and from himself.

Like a Phoenix Gallifrey rose back to his greatness, glory and unendurable beauty. All the ruins and hulks put themselves back together, finding the place where they belonged, returning everything he had missed so much. The shattered planet healed. The capitol's dome was completely restored. White, flawless marble floors lead the Time Lord to the dome's centre towards an enormous throne in the middle of the main hall, right below the glass cupola giving view on the galaxies beyond Gallifrey. All the stars where visible above his head, shining in their endless cold white light. Brighter than ever before.

The Time Lord approached the throne, coming closer and closer while he crossed the overwhelming hall he believed to be gone forever.

There in the centre of Gallifrey's great dome he found her: Rose Tyler the eternal Time Goddess. Restored to her full beauty. Seeing her on the throne of Gallifrey he forgot how to breath as he stared awestruck at his precious girl. She literally glowed, enlightened by the golden light, her flawless face giving no sign of her age, with her big hazel eyes and those soft pink lips. Lips he desperately wished to kiss. Gallifrey and Rose Tyler where waiting for him to be forever with him.

_Forever_ was no longer just the promise of a naïve young girl in love but his future, his destiny, his ultimate destination. He just had to reach out and it would all be his. The universe was finally returning all his favours and countless sacrifices. Unbelievably this was happening to _him._

For a moment he was distracted as his subconscious tried to reach out; and indeed something was odd. He felt it. His skin itched and something prickled at the back of his head and his subconscious once more cried out in agony. But why? What should be wrong about this wonderful image? "It's too wonderful,"said the sceptical little voice in his mind he silenced immediately.

He looked at his Rose and forgot the sensation being too distracted by her beauty and his own joy. Waves of gold. Waves of gold? Finally he managed to notice that it was not gold but Rose's hair, filling the entire hall and glowing in the dark of the night like countless time streams.

Rose smiled at her Time Lord, beamed at him while she hold out her arms, telling him that she loved him. Had always loved him and would ever love him. _Forever_.

He was running faster and faster to reach her, nearly collapsing from the effort, panting heavily, his hearts beating painfully in his chest. If he would only get to her in time everything would be all right.

But the faster he ran the wider she was away. She was always beyond reach and he noticed she would ever be when the light started to fade slowly. The long golden waves began to dissolve as the stars above his head went out one after another.

The Doctor screamed on top of his lungs in desperation as the room began to shake violently. It felt like an earth quake and the floors and walls started cracking. The wonderful vision changed and the feelings of love and safety where replaced by feelings of loss and fear. A pitch black darkness crept closer and closer, engulfing the light, encircling his precious Rose, engulfing her into blackness as he himself fell into an endless black hole and the shielding snow globe around Gallifrey shattered into a billion pieces, burying Gallifrey under it's weight.

The Time Lord had the headache of his life when he finally awoke back on Trenzalore, still screaming terrified by the horrible vision.

Solid ground. Still he was on solid ground. The world did not shatter around him, no cracks in the walls or on the floor, no all-engulfing pitch black darkness and Rose was still there; indeed enshrouded in her black cape and covered with the white mask but still Rose and that was all that mattered.

The quietness in the dying Tardis was so antithetic to the terrible vision he just had and so soothing. Lying on his back and trying to catch breath the vision of a restored Gallifrey and Rose on the throne of his beloved home faded like pictures from a dream.

Easy. The salvation of Gallifrey had been too easy said a nagging,evil voice in his mind. There was something he was missing. Something was wrong. So wrong. But what?

The evil voice in his subconscious started laughing and mocking, "Stupid, stupid Time Lord...the universe never just lets you off the hook. The universe claims a price and today you'll pay – much. This is not gonna be cheap," the evil little voice teased.

"Oh God, how could I have possibly missed that," the Doctor cried out struggling to get back onto his feet, face white as a sheet and eyes wide open in terror "we just created the most massive Paradox!"

To his utter surprise Rose only shrugged and while turning back to the troubled time streams she answered chuckling light heartedly, "Oh yes, should have warned you that this is going to be so Bad Wolf."


	13. Conquering the Past

The gloomy vision the Doctor just had while staring into his time stream started to reach the surface of reality.

It began with a deep, silent growl growing louder and louder any second until the Time Lord had to shield his ears. But it was in vain, there was no way to evade that noise and once again the Doctor saw the darkness coming and the stars fading.

His time stream was upset,outraged, furious. It seemed to boil and to grow and soon it was like an irrepressible sea of flames about the engulf him and Rose and Trenzalore and the entire universe. Tense faced and with wide open horrified eyes the Doctor awaited the flames of his time stream on his skin. He felt utterly helpless when he stared up to Rose with pleading eyes.

Yet she was calm, almost bored as if she was waiting for something.

"Rose!" The Doctor yelled out desperately, "what have you done?"

"I fulfilled my promise, Doctor." Rose answered dispassionately.

"Rose, the universe will collapse, time will end. This paradox is too big to sort itself out!" His voice was filled with fury and distress while she kept staring at the outraged time stream with no visible sign of emotion.

"Yes. I know. Paradox. Big. Bad." Rose mumbled without looking up, " will soon be over, just...ah, there we go."

Suddenly the time blast came crushing down upon Rose's tiny shape and her little black figure was engulfed. She burnt in the flames and he could witness how her clothes fell to ashes. The walls were shaking violently and started cracking as the gigantic time stream created a hole in the putrescent Tardis' floor. Just when the stream was about to break through the walls a wolf rose from the fire.

A giant, spotless white, radiant, mighty wolf jumped out of the time stream. The monster's golden eyes rested for a moment on the Doctor before it jumped back into the fire with a howl so painful it shattered the Time Lord's hearts.

The immediate silence was even worse than the inferno before. The time stream shrunk back to it's primary size, flooding peacefully in the middle of the dead Tardis.

Rose stood in front of the time stream, apparently restored back to her former human shape. She was incredibly thin; the Doctor could make out each and every bone under her pale white skin as she was only covered by her long blonde hair. She was shaking violently and breathing too quickly. Turning to the Doctor and forcing herself to smile she collapsed.

He was at her side before her fragile body hit the floor, scooping her up in his arms.

"Hello," she managed to creak out.

"Hello," he replied smiling while he covered her trembling body with his coat.

The Doctor was sitting on the floor, leaned back against the Tardis' wall with Rose on his lap, embraced by his arms.

"Naughty girl," he forced himself to joke, "you did not tell me how intimidating this spectacle would be."

Rose wrapped her arms around the Doctor's body, resting her head on his chest she replied, "You would not have approved else."

"Ah, never mind a little fire. But next time I think we should consider only having a campfire. Or whatever else you want to do as soon as we get away here."

"As long as you don't take me to the beach. I hate beaches," she grinned weakly with her tongue between her teeth, "Doctor, take this", she said putting a little metal key into his hand."

"Your Tardis key?"

"You'll need it. I have charged it with enough vortex power to take you home. Just hold it tight. I'm sorry but it will be like travelling by a vortex manipulator, a bumpy ride," she paused shortly before continuing, "please stay with me for a while before you leave."

"I'm not leaving. And as long as I'm gone you should keep my own key. I'll get the Tardis and everything will be all right. I still have to show you Barcelona and then we'll have to find Gallifrey, don't we?" he smiled and his voice was joyful, optimistic and he did not even notice the tears streaming down his face.

"You'll find it. Soon. But first you have to save it. All your regenerations will be needed to lock it from time."

"Rose, why can't I still remember what happened to Gallifrey?"

"Because it still happens in your future. But now you have everything you need to make the right choice. Trust me."

"And the paradox?"

"The Bad Wolf took care of it."

"So everything will be okay? All 2.47 billion children on Gallifrey restored back to life? No terrible price to pay?"

"The Bad Wolf took care of it," she replied weakly.

"What do you mean by saying the bad wolf took care of it?", the Doctor asked and his hearts clenched painfully in his chest in dread of the answer.

Rose looked up into his eyes and gave him a sad smile, "I died such a long time ago. Back on Bad Wolf Bay, drowned in the ocean. The wolf brought me back, made me live again and altered my heart. I gave you my heart. I gave the universe the wolf. Nothing remains for me."

"But yet you are here. Completely restored. Living, breathing. My brilliant, perfect Rose," his voice nearly broke and he rocked her softly in his arms, kissing her forehead gently.

"I wish we had visited Barcelona. Would have loved to see them dogs."

"And we will. You promised Rose. You promised forever, you can't break your promise now!" he screamed at her in his desperation and fear.

"I'm sorry. I am so sorry, Doctor."

"Your heart is still in the Tardis, I'll bring it back. The paradox would have never happened, you'll live!"

"Doctor," she forced him to look into her eyes, "no. Gallifrey falls no more. That's all that matters."

"_You _matter."

"More than the 2.47 billion children on Gallifrey? Don't be ridiculous," she snorted angrily.

"YES," he stated firmly, "I don't want Gallifrey at the price of your life!"

"One life traded for billions? I suppose it's the best deal we ever made."

He gave her a horrified stare, "But it's your life."

"How should it be more precious than anyone else's?"

He clenched his jaw and shouted out,"Because it is your life and I want to be with you! Because I want you!You promised. You promised me forever."

"_I want you safe my Doctor, _that is one promise and I kept it."

"You are about to break the other one," he stated sobbing.

Rose looked up to the Doctor to study his broken features: his eyes were red from tears, he trembled slightly and his arms were almost painfully tight wrapped around her body. She brought one hand up to his face to wipe away the tears, caressing his cheeks she moved a bit to give him a proper kiss. Only their need for air made them break apart at last.

"You know," she whispered, "I'm not entirely breaking it."

"What do you mean?"

"Beautiful, beautiful idiot. You did not ask me why I choose the name "Astrid"

"Good," he sighed, "Why did you chose the name Astrid?"

"Astrid. Tardis. Astrid ," she giggled with a sing song voice and kept on, "A Time Lord stole a Tardis and a girl and a Tardis stole a Time Lord. I looked into the heart of the Tardis and saw my own heart and in my heart was only you and in her heart was only you. All of time and space, infinite power and I could only think about running all the way back to you. And the Tardis wanted to run to you as well. To her thief, to my lover."

He swallowed, "I don't understand."

"The Tardis and I, we are alike. You stole us both and we stole you. We both love you, protect you. When I stared into the entire time vortex I became a part of time itself and this part became the Tardis. We are as one. Well, not entirely but...you know, it's all wibbly wobbly. If you had never taken part in the time war, the universe would have died, ceased to exist. The terrible choice you made kept it all going. Would you have not done it, you would have never met me. I would have never looked into the vortex and would have never came back for you. And if you had not burnt Gallifrey there would be no necessity to give you the opportunity to change your mind. But the start of all these events was your decision to steal the Tardis and...well, let's say it's like playing five dimensional domino ."

"You are my Tardis?" he asked disbelievingly.

She clapped her hands, "My Doctor, safe forever as long as he is in the Tardis! But no, I'm not your Tardis. It's rather like I've transferred some of my emotions into her and as they have been transferred into time itself they have always been in your Tardis. Like...ehm, the Tardis is a part of me and I am a part of the Tardis. That part stays indeed with you forever."

"Together with Rose Tyler in the Tardis. Just as it should be," he replied grim faced.

"Exactly."

"This is not my grave," the Doctor concluded.

"It is your grave, now. And it was. Was meant to be your grave. But it is not certain that this place will remain your grave" she said with a loving smile.

"Whose grave is this?"

"Mine. Maybe. At least right now certainly partially," she giggled and he shook his head.

"Rose, I still don't understand. What happens now?" The Doctor asked her in a soft,defeated voice.

"I sent my heart into your past and future. I planned this for so long," she digressed, "It is so hard to let go. The biggest word in the universe and yet the saddest "alive". I was alive. And it was brilliant, fantastic, geronimo, molto bene," she laughed, "and it was painful and so full of longing and desire and broken dreams. But it ends."

"Rose?" he whispered.

"You still want to know how I am alive?"

The Doctor nodded unable to speak.

"A bit vortex power has remained, causing my blood to run through my veins. It will not last long as most of the power was consumed to heal the paradox; I used the remaining power to restore my body. I did not dare to use it earlier for myself. I feared otherwise it would not be enough to take care of the universe," Rose sounded calm and confident but the Doctor could see the hidden fear in her eyes.

"But...that means you are going to die," he whispered scarcely audible.

She shrugged her shoulders, "You don't have to stay, you know. Just hold the Tardis key in your hand and leave. You won't be able to remember what happened today because some events are still in your future but you'll be sad. Very sad. If you leave right now it will be easier for you. Just go."

The Doctor did not answer but kissed her instead long,passionately and ruefully:

Regretting his many missed chances with her.

Regretting having sent her away from satellite five.

Regretting having left her on the beach.

Regretting the terrible choice he had made during the time war.

Regretting he had never been able to forgive himself this choice.

Regretting not having loved her enough to conquer his past.

And he cried. And it felt like he would never be able to stop crying again. But he would. Soon. Because he would forgive himself when he would once be able to remember how he had changed his mind and saved Gallifrey. But yet he had traded Rose in. Well, it had been her decision but he felt responsible. He always did. Of course she had tricked him but if he had insisted he could have saved her instead of Gallifrey.

He hadn't done it.

He wasn't planning to do it.

He would forget and for once he looked forward to oblivion because this time oblivion would mean absolution from pain and guilt and regret.

"How much time have we left?" The Doctor asked Rose.

"23 hours, 38 minutes and 16 seconds," she answered.

The Doctor heard an echo calling from his past, "_One day with your beloved. Which day would you chose?_" But you don't get to chose, the day is chosen for you.

He fought down the pain and turned towards her, knowing that the pain of losing her would be worse by any second he chose to remain at her side, "Well, 23 hours 37 minutes 5 seconds to make up for an entire life? I guess we have an awful lot if living to do. Rose Tyler, love of my life, what would you like to do?"

Rose gave him her loveliest, widest smile, "You'll stay with me than?"

"Of course I will. There is no place I would rather like to be than with you."

She grinned, "Staying somewhere...that's so not like you," she paused and with all her love she said, "_RUN"._

**Please read the Epilogue.**

**I desperately want to know what you think about the end so please be so kind as to give me a review on it and I'm a big girl: if you didn't like it at all I want to know either.**


	14. Epilogue

23 hours 37 minutes 5 seconds. A hero like the Doctor would never let such amount of time pass without making up a plan.

23 hours 37 minutes 5 seconds. That has always been enough time for the Doctor to change the fate of the universe and it was enough time to change Rose Tyler's fate.

23 hours 37 minutes 27 seconds later, The Doctor returned to Powell Estate unknowing what had happened to him, yet he was sad and relieved. He could not remember Lady Astrid or Trenzalore but he knew _something _had happened.

23 hours 37 minutes 14seconds later Rose Tyler found herself on Gallifrey awaiting the Doctor to return _home_.


End file.
